Tommy Vannelli's run with the Gophers hockey program appears to be over before it began.

The former Minnetonka star, who would have been a freshman, has decided to leave the program, the team announced. In a statement Tuesday, head men's hockey coach Don Lucia said Vannelli didn't feel college hockey "was the best route for him at this time," given the academic requirements.

Vannelli, a 2013 second round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, will instead play for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League, according to Mike Russo of the Star Tribune.